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"Guild Master!" Hans shouted, his voice cracking with relief and joy. The words came out strangled, mixed with blood from his damaged throat, but the emotion behind them was pure.
"You're really here! I can't believe you made it!"
Lu Changcheng's eyes swept past Hans to examine Henry and Irene's unconscious forms. What he saw made his perfect features twist into something ugly and cold.
Henry lay sprawled on the obsidian like a broken doll. Both of his arms were gone, torn away at the shoulders, leaving ragged wounds that had been hastily cauterized. His breathing was shallow and irregular, his face pale as death. Irene was in even worse condition. She lay motionless, her eyes open but staring at nothing, completely unresponsive to the world around her. Dried blood crusted around her ears and nose.
Hans had never seen their kind and virtuous guild leader angry before. The change was terrifying. Lu Changcheng's flawless face contorted with rage, and the air around him began to shimmer with barely contained power.
BANG!
Sword energy erupted from the blue blade Lu Changcheng held. The force was so intense it created a visible shockwave that rippled through the air like liquid glass. The energy slammed into the being's bone weapon, sending both the sword of pure horror and its wielder sliding backward across the obsidian plain. Cracks spread through the volcanic glass beneath the being's feet as it fought to maintain its balance.
"What happened here, Hans?" Lu Changcheng asked, his voice deadly calm despite the fury burning in his eyes. He kept his sword raised, lightning still crackling along its edge as he watched the being recover from the impact.
Hans hurried to reply, the words tumbling out of him in a rush. "Guild Master, the boss here is at Extinction level! We've never faced anything like this before!"
"Extinction level?" Lu Changcheng's eyebrows rose slightly. Even for someone of his power, that was significant.
"Yes, the short version is this: Henry killed the mid boss and lost both arms doing it. Irene and I got our brains fried by the pressure of the final boss. Mr. Nox saved us and killed the gate's final boss, but in the process he turned into that monster and lost himself."
Lu Changcheng's face turned dark as storm clouds. The temperature around them seemed to drop several degrees. "You mean to tell me that mountain sized monster with three masks is Brother Nox?"
"Yes, Guild Master. Please save him." Hans's voice broke on the last word.
"You do realize that being is close to apocalypse rank, right?" Lu Changcheng studied the entity across the obsidian plain. The being had recovered from the sword energy blast and was now watching them with those three masked faces.
Hans dropped to his knees and bowed his head deep, pressing his forehead against the cold volcanic glass. "I know it's hard to ask, but please save him. He died saving us."
Lu Changcheng smile softly.
"Haha, you don't have to beg, Hans." Lu Changcheng's expression softened slightly, though his eyes remained fixed on the being.
"He's my sworn brother. I will save him even if it costs my life."
The being began moving toward them again, its six arms swaying with predatory grace. Each step sent spider webs of cracks through the obsidian, and the sound echoed like distant thunder. The bone sword in its grasp pulsed with malevolent energy, hungry for more divine blood.
Lu Changcheng stepped forward to meet it, his hand moving to the sword at his side. This was no ordinary weapon. The Pure Yang Sword hummed with primordial sunfire and tribulation lightning, its edge carrying Daoist intent that could slice through space itself. His black robes, woven from Dao threads, shimmered with protective power against elemental destruction and spatial collapse.
"Stay back, Hans. This is going to get dangerous."
The Daoist raised his Pure Yang Sword, and tribulation lightning began to dance along its edge. The very air around him seemed to bend and fold, reality becoming malleable in his presence. When he spoke, his voice carried across the obsidian plain with supernatural clarity.
"Brother Nox, I know you're in there. Let me help you."
The being's response was immediate and violent. It lunged forward with impossible speed, all six arms moving in perfect coordination. The bone sword swept toward Lu Changcheng's head while its other hands reached out to grab him.
Lu Changcheng's Pure Yang Sword met the bone sword in a shower of sparks that fell like burning stars. The impact sent shockwaves through the obsidian plain, but more than that, space itself began to fracture around the point of contact. Hairline cracks appeared in the air, revealing glimpses of the void between dimensions. The sound was like thunder being born, so loud it made Hans's newly enhanced ears ring despite his S-rank constitution.
But Lu Changcheng was ready for the other attacks as well. He used his Daoist Step Between Horizons, folding space to appear effortlessly beside the being, as if he had always been there. His sword work was poetry in motion, each movement carrying the weight of tribulation and the precision of a master calligrapher.
"I'm not here to fight you, Nox," he said gently as he deflected another strike.
"I'm here to bring you home."
The being's three masks tilted, and for a moment Lu Changcheng thought he saw recognition flicker in those impossible features. But then the creature pressed its attack with renewed fury, all six arms moving in a deadly dance that should have overwhelmed any single opponent.
Lu Changcheng met every strike with his space cutting swordplay. His Pure Yang Sword moved like tribulation lightning itself, appearing in exactly the right place at exactly the right moment to block each attack. Where their weapons clashed, space fractured like glass, and the volcanic glass beneath their feet began to glow with heat from the impacts.
"You saved your friends, Brother," Lu Changcheng continued, his voice never losing its gentle tone even as he fought for his life.
"You did what you had to do. You protected the people who matter to you."
The being snarled, a sound that came from too many throats at once. It brought the bone sword down in a strike that would have split a mountain, but Lu Changcheng caught it on his blade and held it there. For a moment, they were locked in place, two forces of nature straining against each other.
The space around them began to bend and warp. Reality itself couldn't handle the pressure of their conflict. Cracks appeared in the air, revealing glimpses of the void between dimensions. The obsidian plain buckled and folded, creating impossible geometries that hurt to look at.
"Remember who you are, Nox," Lu Changcheng said, his face inches from the being's center mask. "Remember your name. Remember your friends."
The being's other five arms struck simultaneously, but Lu Changcheng activated Heaven's Silent Manuscript. A zone of absolute stillness formed around him, where sound and spatial ripples vanished. In this sealed world of silence, he moved with perfect clarity, his sword trailing tribulation lightning that cut through the distorted space like a hot knife through butter. The lightning caught one of the being's arms, and divine blood sprayed across the obsidian.
But the wound healed almost instantly, the flesh knitting itself back together with disturbing speed. The being showed no sign of pain or even acknowledgment of the injury.
They clashed again and again, their battle creating a symphony of destruction that echoed across the realm. Lu Changcheng's Tribulation Calligraphy filled the air with elegant lightning strikes shaped like brushstrokes, each one a stroke of Heaven's decree. The being countered with its own dark energy, but space itself seemed to bend away from Lu Changcheng's attacks.
Chunks of obsidian flew through the air like missiles. The strange sky above them flickered and wavered, showing glimpses of other dimensions bleeding through. Hans had to crawl behind a ridge of volcanic glass to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
"I know you can hear me, Brother," Lu Changcheng called out as he ducked under a swing that would have taken his head off. "You're stronger than this curse. You're stronger than whatever's trying to control you."
For just a moment, the being hesitated. Its attacks slowed slightly, and the murderous intent in its movements seemed to waver. Lu Changcheng seized the opportunity.
"Ren," he said softly, using the name with the gentle affection of an older brother.
"Little Ren, it's time to come back to us."
The reaction was immediate and electric. The being's three masks snapped toward Lu Changcheng with laser focus. The center mask, with its preserved human features, seemed to struggle with some internal conflict. The other two remained impassive, but the human one showed flickers of emotion.
Pain. Confusion. Recognition.
"That's right, Little Ren," Lu Changcheng continued, his voice warm with brotherly love.
"I'm here now. You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore."
The being's attacks became more erratic, less coordinated. Two of its arms struck at Lu Changcheng while the other four seemed to move independently, as if different parts of its consciousness were fighting for control.
Lu Changcheng pressed his advantage, not with violence but with words and technique. He executed his Space Shattering Palm, a calm strike that caused reality to fracture like glass around them.
"Remember the day we first met? You were so angry at the world, so ready to fight everyone who looked at you wrong. But underneath all that rage, I saw a good heart."
The being staggered, clutching its head with two of its six hands. The bone sword wavered in its grip, and cracks began to appear along its surface.
"You've always protected people, Ren. Even when they didn't deserve it. Even when it cost you everything. That's who you are. That's who you've always been."
The center mask began to change. The expression of frozen rage slowly softened, replaced by something that looked almost like tears.
But the transformation wasn't complete. The other aspects of the being's nature fought back with desperate fury. The bone sword solidified again, and all six arms moved with renewed coordination.
The battle resumed with even greater intensity. They moved across the obsidian plain like forces of nature, Lu Changcheng's Sword Dao creating impossible geometries in the air. He used his Thousand Lotus Mirage technique, his sword arcs blossoming into lotus-like reflections across folded space. Each illusionary lotus was real in its own pocket dimension, making it impossible to tell where the true strike would land.
Lu Changcheng's Pure Yang Sword sang as it executed the Heaven Punishing Sword technique, cutting not just flesh but the essence of being itself. The being's bone weapon answered with its own dark energy, but Lu Changcheng's mastery of space cutting swordplay made distance and barriers meaningless.
They were no longer just fighting on the obsidian plain. Their battle had transcended physical space, taking place across multiple dimensions simultaneously. Hans caught glimpses of their conflict reflected in broken mirrors of reality, each reflection showing a different angle of the same deadly dance.
"I know it hurts, Little Ren," Lu Changcheng said as he parried a strike that would have unmade lesser beings. "I know you're scared. But you're not alone anymore. Your big brother is here."
The being's response was a wordless roar that shattered the obsidian for miles around. But Lu Changcheng heard something else in that sound. Anguish. Desperation. A cry for help from someone drowning in forces beyond their control.
"Let me help you," Lu Changcheng pleaded. "Let me share this burden. That's what brothers do."
For a heartbeat, everything stopped. The being stood motionless on the cracked obsidian, all six arms hanging at its sides. The bone sword pointed toward the ground. The three masks turned toward Lu Changcheng with an expression that might have been hope.
Then the moment shattered.
The being exploded into motion with desperate fury, all pretense of restraint abandoned. It attacked with the single minded focus of a cornered animal, its six arms moving in perfect synchronization to overwhelm Lu Changcheng's defenses.
But Lu Changcheng was ready. His blue sword became a blur of lightning and steel, meeting every attack with supernatural precision. The clash of their weapons created a sound like the birth of stars, so intense it made the fabric of reality ring like a bell.
They fought across the obsidian plain and into the air itself, their battle carrying them through three dimensions as if gravity was merely a suggestion. Lightning and darkness crashed together in displays that would have blinded mortal eyes.
Lu Changcheng's black robes were torn and singed, but his movements never faltered. The being bled from a dozen wounds, but they healed as quickly as they were made. Neither combatant showed any sign of tiring.
The dungeon around them began to collapse. The walls between dimensions grew thin and started to crack. Through the gaps, Hans could see other realms bleeding through: a desert of red sand under twin suns, an ocean of liquid starlight, a forest where the trees were made of crystallized screams.
"The whole place is coming apart!" Hans shouted, though he wasn't sure anyone could hear him over the sound of reality tearing itself to pieces.
Lu Changcheng heard him. In a moment of perfect clarity between sword strikes, he made his decision. He activated his Heavenly Gate of Tribulation, a Daoist gate manifesting above them that poured lightning while bending space to trap the being. But the creature was too powerful, too driven by whatever cosmic horror had taken hold of it.
"Ren," he called out, putting all his love and desperation into that single word. "My little brother. Please come back to me."
The being's bone sword swept toward his head in a strike that would have ended the fight. Lu Changcheng could have blocked it easily. Instead, he chose to attack with his ultimate technique.
His Pure Yang Sword executed Severing the Void, drawing a simple arc through the air. Space itself split open along that line, a clean, elegant cut that made distance, barriers, and defenses meaningless. The technique struck one of the being's six arms just below the shoulder, and this time the wound didn't heal.
The severed arm fell to the obsidian with a sound like breaking stone. Divine blood sprayed across the volcanic glass, hissing where it touched the surface.
But Lu Changcheng's bold gambit came at a cost. The bone sword completed its arc, striking him across the chest with enough force to shatter mountains. He flew backward through the air, blood streaming from his mouth as he crashed into a ridge of obsidian.
The impact sent shockwaves through the collapsing dungeon. Cracks spread outward from the point where Lu Changcheng struck the ground, and chunks of the ceiling began to rain down around them.
Lu Changcheng struggled to his feet, one hand pressed against his chest where the bone sword had struck. Blood ran between his fingers, staining his black robes crimson. But his eyes remained fixed on the being across the obsidian plain.
The creature stood motionless, staring at its severed arm with something that might have been confusion. The bone sword wavered in its remaining hand, and the three masks turned toward Lu Changcheng with expressions that were almost human.
"This is just the beginning, Little Ren," Lu Changcheng said softly, his voice carrying across the ruined landscape despite his injuries. "I'm not giving up on you. I'll never give up on you."
Hans watched the exchange in amazement, his newly enhanced senses taking in details that would have been impossible for him to perceive as a A rank hunter. The sheer scale of power being thrown around was beyond anything he had imagined possible.
Lu Changcheng coughed, blood spattering the obsidian at his feet. One of the being's six arms lay severed on the ground between them. The first round of their battle was over, but both combatants remained standing.
Hans looked at Lu Changcheng with newfound awe and whispered the words that had become legend throughout the hunter community:
"So this is why they call him the strongest Mythical rank monster."